


As Slow As Winter

by BlackIris



Series: Fucking February 2018 [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fucking February 2018, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 03:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13604304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackIris/pseuds/BlackIris
Summary: Fucking February 2018Day 7: Secret RelationshipsThis is the second of two fics for today, as this prompt was first too intimidating and then far too tempting.





	As Slow As Winter

**Author's Note:**

> I tried something new.. I’ve been having Bucky feels evidently. So here you go, you’ve been warned.  
> Un-beta'd, enjoy.

Darcy isn’t exactly new to the tower, but she still hasn’t been here very long. Not compared to almost everyone else, well, save for Jane of course. Jane’s the reason she’s here. Jane and Thor. They’ve kind of adopted Darcy after she held her own with all the Dark Elf bullshit. Something that Darcy’s grateful to have survived and gotten a ‘we almost died’ kiss out of. 

But all that seems so long ago, now that she’s literally living with super heroes and geniuses. And all because she wanted six college credits, right? Not a bad trade off. Of course, her classes took a bit of a back seat to her work in the labs. Something she fought with Tony about. He relented when she agreed to taking classes part time and cutting down her hours with Jane and Bruce. All while staying at the tower with them. A detail Tony wouldn’t budge on. 

Darcy’s noticed that Tony has become quiet the papa bear figure for a lot of the people working and living there. That is when Steve’s not around to take that position. Luckily, Steve has been around a lot more. Mostly due to Bucky’s arrival. The two seem to be happy, finally, even if Bucky rarely speaks.

Darcy finds his calm demeanor rather charming. The simple fact that he’s been through so much but still manages to hold his head up and work through things really inspires Darcy. She knows she can trust him like she can Steve, Tony, or anyone else. She knows this even though they’ve barely spoken. It’s something she can feel. 

Soon their stolen glances become small smiles of acknowledgement. Which leads to whispered greetings in the early morning and late evening when they cross paths. Over the months, this leads to short conversations on a variety of topics while they sit in the common room, lite only by beams of moonlight and the glow from the city. Bucky’s answers are short and to the point, almost as if he’s not sure to how share his thoughts or how he’s feeling. Darcy doesn’t ever seem to mind, she works well with him, showing a surprising amount of patience. 

Whenever they do interact, Darcy begins to notice that it’s when no one else is around. Knowing these moments are just theirs, makes them more special to her. She knows how hard it is for him to open up to anyone that isn’t Steve as he tries to find himself again. 

Bucky seems to barely acknowledge her when others are around. It slowly grows on Darcy, that maybe he’s embarrassed that they spend so much time together, alone. Or maybe he’s just trying to keep their interactions a secret so that he can finally have one good secret. She goes back and forth on whether or not it’s a good thing. In doing so, she starts to avoid him. She tries to gauge a reaction from him in the few times she does seem him, otherwise just watching from a distance. He almost seems unaffected, but she can tell there’s a touch more sorrow in his eyes. 

Darcy decides to ask Steve how Bucky’s doing. He says nothing out of the ordinary, but she sees the same sorrow in his eyes too. Pressing further, Steve reveals to her that Bucky’s been a little distant but he doesn’t know why. It’s as if something has shifted in him, and Steve can’t figure it out. After giving Steve a tight hug, she asks if she can maybe talk to Bucky. The idea is strange to him, as he rarely sees them interact, but he gives her his approval.

Darcy confronts Bucky in a calm manner one evening. Upon seeing her, his face remains stern, but his eyes light up. She can barely get a word out before he’s telling her how much he hates when she’s not around. How he’s calmer with her. Happier. He feels like he can keep her safe, while she slowly helps him heal his mind. He admits that he wants to protect her. He always feels drawn to her. That it kills him not to have her by his side whenever he sees her, even from across the room. His sentences are short, concise, always direct and to the point. Darcy’s speechless, which scares him until she smiles. He’s always going to be far more complicated than she’ll ever know. She simply tells him that she’s missed him too. That she was worried, she didn’t know where she stood with him. The look of hurt is mirrored deep in his eyes as she explains herself. Let me make it up to you, he tells her. He only wants to keep her safe. He gently picks up her hand, holding it as if she were made of glass. 

When she sighs his name, his eyes grow cold. He shakes his head and begins to mutter in a tongue she doesn’t recognize. She asks him what’s wrong. And he asks her, in return, if she likes him, this Bucky, this weak man that doesn’t know who he is yet. 

Shock takes over her body, slowing her movements as she realizes that all this time, she’s been befriending, and falling for the Soldier and for Bucky. That their moments at dawn and dusk where with Bucky, but their nightly talks where with the Soldier. That his quiet, short words are all he’s capable of, as he’s never been allowed much more. That the comfort she offered him was new to him. That the man in front of her is still a man at war, within himself. That somehow, she needed to find both Bucky and Soldier, and love them equally. Help him come to terms with the different sides of himself that he’s left with.

He waits, still as stone, for her reaction, as emotions dance over her face in waves. Shaking her head, she looks him in the eyes, slowly reaching a hand out to cup his face. He doesn’t move, which she takes as a good thing; at least he’s not running away from her. Darcy decides it’s now or never, time to speak her peace, to help them, as well as herself and admit her feelings out loud for all to hear.

“I, I like you, whoever you are in there. No matter how much you change. Please don’t push me away.” 

“We, I like you too, doll.” 

With that short, simple sentence, she knew he was still healing, still making progress. Even if it could be as slow as Winter.


End file.
